Salad Fingers

Salad Fingers
File:Salad Fingers and Horace Horsecollar.png Salad Fingers plays with Horace Horsecollar in Episode 6.
Written by	David Firth Christian Pickup (co-writer)
Production
Animator	David Firth

Salad Fingers is a Flash cartoon series (created by David Firth) which gained rapid internet popularity in 2005.

Summary

In the surreal cartoons, the eponymous Salad Fingers inhabits a desolate, sparsely populated world in which he revels in the delightful feeling of the textures of various objects on his salad fingers (his fingers are long, green and strangely shaped). He particularly enjoys rusty articles (especially spoons). He also loves "grubby" water taps, nettles (the sting of which he finds pleasurable), blood (which he refers to as "the red water"), and raking strands of hair over his eyeballs. He also derives similar pleasure from experiencing pain. He appears to enjoy meeting new people, though many of his acquaintances are simply avatars (such as finger puppets) for which he provides voice. On the rare occasion he hears coherent speech from another living person, he falls into a state of shock or insanity. When Salad Fingers himself speaks, his voice is generally gentle and fluid, and also appears in the cartoon as animated text.

The eerie music featured in the background is the tune "Beware the Friendly Stranger" by Boards of Canada. The dark music in the soundtrack that appears when Salad Fingers is scared is actually Firth playing the guitar, slowed down and reversed. Other music included in Salad Fingers episodes includes work credited to Brian Eno and Aphex Twin. David Firth frequently inserts references to Aphex Twin in his flash cartoons; for example, the Aphex Twin logo can be found on the telephone in Salad Fingers episode five.

Characters

File:Salad Fingers and Puppet Friends.png

Salad Fingers greeting his finger puppet friends. Left to right: Jeremy Fisher, Marjory Stewart-Baxter, and Hubert Cumberdale.

Salad Fingers

The main character is a bald, hunchbacked man with light green skin. His long, strangely-shaped fingers are extremely sensitive to rough surfaces, and often stimulates himself by rubbing his fingers on various objects (such as rusty spoons). He claims the sensations he experiences are almost orgasmic. He also enjoys using nettles for self-urtication. Salad Fingers appears unable or unwilling to distinguish between sentient beings and inanimate objects, and is frequently found talking to various inert articles (including finger puppets, a tree, an abandoned toilet, a toy horse, and a broken radio). He often assigns such objects proper names and appears to believe that they can communicate with him directly, sometimes voicing their perceived thoughts himself.

He lives alone in a small shack with the number 22 on the door. His talents include playing the flute and speaking French. Psychologically, he appears morbidly schizophrenic and masochistic, though it could reasonably be believed that he suffers from any number of possible mental disorders (such as pica or bipolar disorder). A notable symptom of his possible mental illness is his apparent inability to discern reality from fiction, characterized by his talking to himself and to inanimate objects, experiencing visual and auditory hallucinations, and his bizzare, delusional connections between past and present events (such as believing that a corpse found near his home is actually his little brother, not only back "alive-and-well" from fighting a war, but capable of carrying on a conversation).

Hubert Cumberdale, Marjory Stewart-Baxter, and Jeremy Fisher

Finger puppets who appear variously in episodes two, three, five, six, seven and eight. They often appear in Salad Fingers's fantasies as life sized beings. Salad Fingers also enjoys "tasting" these puppets, claiming they taste like "soot and poo" or "sunshine dust". Salad Fingers has also referred to Jeremy Fisher as having been out fighting "The Great War".

Harry/Milford Cubicle

Appearing in episode three, Cubicle is a human-like armless being who wears an apron identifying him as being employed at a "BBQ". Though his nametag reads "Harry", Salad Fingers calls him Milford Cubicle.

Bordois

Appearing in episode four, Bordois is a woodlouse which Salad Fingers accidentally kills by attempting to pet her. He refers to this bug as "little sister". Once he squishes her, he comically says "I shalln't play with you again until you've had a wash."

Mable

Appearing in episode five, Mable is a young girl who goes to a picnic with Salad Fingers. She is the first character other than Salad Fingers who can communicate in English, and she is the first person other than Salad Fingers to actually speak—something that seems to shock and dismay Salad Fingers.

Kenneth

A decomposing corpse found in a hole near Salad Fingers's house; Salad Fingers claims that it is his brother, "back from the Great War," and invites him in for dinner.

Roger

Appearing in episode eight, Roger is a broken radio, which speaks in a robotic, aggressive manner (much like a Dalek) and scares Salad Fingers into the cupboard twice. Roger, according to Salad Fingers, must be given 'sustenance' (in the form of small brown pellets which appear to be beans or marbles).

Horace Horsecollar

A toy horse with which Salad Fingers indulges his senses.

Salad Fingers also ramblingly mentions he has an "old pal" named "Charlie" as well as a daughter, though neither of them are seen. It could be that neither of these characters are real, as they could be nothing more than the title character's delusions.

Un-named Characters

• A screeching child who Salad Fingers visits to "enquire about his spoons" in episode one.
• A young child wearing a varsity-type jacket whom Salad Fingers accidentally cooks in an oven which the boy climbed in to help Salad Fingers retrieve the fish he was cooking in episode two.
• A big eyed, grotesque little boy who falls in love with Salad Fingers in episode four.

Episodes

Each episode is 4-6 minutes long; the narratives themselves are quite surreal, and each one only follows a semblance of a story.

Episode 1 - Spoons

• Release date: July 1, 2004
• Credits: Drawn, animated and voiced by David Firth. Written by David Firth and Christian "Crust" Pickup. Music by Boards of Canada (in particular, the song "Beware the Friendly Stranger").

This episode introduces us to Salad Fingers and his love of touching rusty spoons. He explains how touching any form of rust—including spoons, a door bell panel, and a kettle—stimulates him ("The feeling of rust against my salad fingers is almost ORGASMIC"), and that he holds a particular love of spoons. Salad Fingers walks to the house of a strange young boy to see if he has any rusty spoons; the child screeches two times, at which point Salad Fingers leaves, after asking to caress a rusty kettle that is on a table beside him.

This episode stands out from subsequent episodes; the animation makes use of more abstract backgrounds (especially during close-ups of Salad Fingers), and the title character's voice is higher with a slight sing-song tone, which becomes more subdued in later episodes. The animation is rawer and Salad Fingers' teeth are also less detailed.

Episode 2 - Friends

• Release date: July 15, 2004
• Credits: Drawn, animated and voiced by David Firth. Written by David Firth and Christian "Crust" Pickup. Music by Boards of Canada and David Firth.

Salad Fingers has a get-together with his "friends"—finger puppets—whom Salad Fingers introduces as Hubert Cumberdale, Marjory Stewart-Baxter and Jeremy Fisher. He appears to believe that his "friends" are real, living beings, suggesting that they say "Hello" to the audience. Wondering what his friends taste like, he briefly inserts them into his mouth. (Marjory Stewart-Baxter tastes "like sunshine dust", while Hubert Cumberdale tastes "like soot and poo". He never tastes Jeremy Fisher, although in Episode 6, he does eat him). Salad Fingers then tells them that he has a fish cooking in the oven and speaks a nonsensical phrase in French: "Alors. Habille-la. Comment t'appelles tu? Qu'est-ce qu'il y a?." This roughly translates to, "So then. Dress her. What's your name? What is going on?"

In the next scene, a frightened child responds to Salad Fingers's call for help. Salad Fingers cannot reach the fish cooking in his oven and asks the child to get it for him. As the child reaches into the oven, Salad Fingers sees a rusty nail jutting out of the wall reaches to stroke it, causing the oven door to close and trap the child inside. Salad Fingers then impales his finger on the spike and begins bleeding, saying he "likes it when the red water comes out".

Salad Fingers pales and passes out. Apparently dreaming, Salad Fingers walks through a large meat locker singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow to himself. He encounters a life-size Hubert Cumberdale, who "speaks" by uttering a strange scream. When Salad Fingers awakens, the oven smokes and oozes, the child forgotten inside as Salad Fingers states, "That fish smells about done."

In this episode, Salad Finger's voice has lowered in pitch, yet it is still lighter and higher than later episodes.

Episode 3 - Nettles

• Release date: August 1, 2004
• Credits: Drawn, animated and voiced by David Firth. Written by David Firth and Christian "Crust" Pickup. Music by Boards of Canada, Brian Eno and a yoga flute.

Salad Fingers is playing with nettles and has irritated blisters all over his hands. He then comes across an empty baby carriage, which he calls a "nettle carrier" and then leaves with. An armless man wearing an apron labeled "BBQ" appears and chases after Salad Fingers, screaming unintelligibly. As Salad Fingers sits inside rubbing nettles on his nipples (apparently causing him to lactate), the armless man stands outside Salad Fingers's house, banging his head on the door repeatedly as Salad Fingers tells viewers that the nettles remind him of "happy times" (leading to a flashback of Salad Fingers and Hubert Cumberdale getting their hair done). Eventually, Salad Fingers comes outside and finds the man bloody and unconscious (or possibly dead). He names the man "Milford Cubicle", ignoring the man's name tag reading "Harry". Salad Fingers then drags Milford inside and hangs him on a meat hook on the wall. Salad Fingers plays the flute for Milford, and later offers him a glass of warm milk, possibly implying that it would be from his lactation.

Episode 4 - Cage

File:Hydrocephalic.PNG

The seemingly hydrocephalic boy who falls in love with Salad Fingers.

• Release date: August 20, 2004
• Credits: Drawn, animated and voiced by David Firth. Written by David Firth, Christian "Crust" Pickup, and Jimi Mwng. Additional character design by Jimi Mwng. Music by Boards of Canada, Aphex Twin and David Firth.

Salad Fingers wears a beret and declares that he is going to try and find France. However, he is frightened by a hydrocephalic boy with disproportionately large eyeballs that has been "watching him for a while". Salad Fingers becomes uncomfortable with the child's proximity and begins to leave. The boy, who speaks only in growls and grunts, approaches Salad Fingers, having apparently fallen in love with him. When Salad Fingers, still wary, extends his arm to keep the child away, the boy licks his hand.

Inside his house, Salad Fingers accidentally squishes Bordois, a woodlouse who lives in his walls, whom Salad Fingers refers to as "little sister". Salad Fingers hears a knock on the door, which he opens to find a "grubby tap" attached to a string on the ground. Salad Fingers becomes excited about this "gift" and begins to fantasize about taps. He attempts to fetch it, but it is drawn away on the string as bait. He is caught in a bear trap which causes him to lose blood and consciousness while savoring the pain blissfully. He wakes up in a cage, and enjoys rubbing the rusted bars. The grotesque boy approaches the cage and holds out a ring (on which is mounted a human tooth) as if proposing marriage. Salad Fingers becomes distraught, states "I don't like this game", then pulls a curtain down over the window of the cage. When the curtain lifts, the boy, seeing that Salad Fingers has disappeared, begins to cry. The episode closes with Salad Fingers, wearing his beret, flying away gleefully on a giant tap.

Episode 5 - Picnic

• Release date: November 25, 2004
• Credits: Designed, animated, voiced and written by David Firth. Additional writing and the voice of Mable by Christian "Crust" Pickup. Music by Boards of Canada, Aphex Twin and David Firth.

Salad Fingers talks to an apparently broken and disconnected phone, asking the operator to connect him to his "old pal Charlie" so he can invite him to a picnic. Whilst describing the picnic fare, Salad Fingers rubs his stomach in hunger, then claims to have been rudely disconnected. He then holds up a hand with Hubert Cumberdale on a finger, though Salad Fingers instead calls him "Barbara Logan-Price".

In the next scene, Salad Fingers wears a bridal train and talks to himself in a mirror, declaring "You look so beautiful". He then goes outside for his picnic, which is attended by a strange crow (which appears in other David Firth cartoons) and a little girl with scars on her face, a filthy, bloodstained pink dress, and orange hair. Salad Fingers asks the orange-haired girl a question and answers it for her (as he seems to think that only he can speak), ending with "replied Mable". Salad Fingers calls ("elects") her his new playmate and compliments her on her dress, and as he does this, Marjory Stewart-Baxter is seen in the window, jealous. Salad Fingers offers "Mable" some "Pease Pudding", which he feeds to her with a rusty spoon. The crow then swoops down and steals Salad Fingers's spoon.

The little girl giggles and says that the crow must like spoons too. The shock of the girl speaking to him in English and not via Salad Finger's own voice drives Salad Fingers to temporary insanity, seeing the girl with empty eye sockets saying, "What's wrong, Mr. Fingers? Do you not like my mouth-words?"

Episode 6 - Present

File:Salad Fingers Teeth 2.png

Salad Fingers' teeth often have alphabetical characters drawn on them. In some frames there are other characters (eg. "j") or even smilies.

• Release date: July 24, 2005
• Credits: Drawn, animated and voiced by David Firth. Written by David Firth and Christian "Crust" Pickup. Music by Boards of Canada, Chris Gladwin and David Firth.

The episode begins with Salad Fingers walking about his house. He sees Hubert Cumberdale on top of a cupboard, and instructs the finger puppet to come down at once. Hubert turns into a black, viscous fluid ("a sticky river") and oozes down the cupboard. A silhouette is then seen walking through the house and Salad Fingers asks if somebody is there; it is, in fact, the Jeremy Fisher puppet on his finger. Salad Fingers remarks that he thought Jeremy was out "fighting the Great War".

Another perspective shot shows Jeremy Fisher (now with arms) handing Salad Fingers a toy horse. Salad Fingers is pleased with the present and says "my very own Horace Horsecollar". Salad Fingers also remarks on the pleasing texture of the toy. He then eats Jeremy Fisher. He walks outside with it and goes to an abandoned toilet which he starts having a conversation with. Suddenly, the mood changes and the music becomes sinister; he grows concerned and he begins defending himself, saying "You've got the wrong bloke, squire." He then flushes the toilet to "wash those bad thoughts away".

Upon arriving home, Salad Fingers gasps and sees himself sitting inside. The Salad Fingers inside appears to be hallucinating, seeing the "outside" Salad Fingers as a life-size Jeremy Fisher. The "inside" Salad Fingers speaks in a slightly different voice and also has rougher text showing what he is saying. The conversation starts off just like the earlier one with Jeremy Fisher, but goes on to include accusations that Jeremy Fisher has been "tailgating [his] daughter with aspirations of deflowering her rose". This appears to be the other "side" of the conversation Salad Fingers had into the toilet.

The inside Salad Fingers is now seen with the Jeremy Fisher finger puppet. Jeremy unbuttons the fastener that has been attached to his mouth, and his mouth oozes green liquid. Salad Fingers remarks that he never did "sample the delights of your flavour" (see Episode 2). He begins putting the finger-puppet in his mouth, but the scene quickly changes to a bloody scene of the "inside" Salad Fingers eating the "outside" Salad Fingers' head/brains. The episode ends abruptly.

Episode 7 - Shore Leave

• Release date: January 28, 2006
• Credits: Drawn, animated and voiced by David Firth. Written by David Firth, Christian Pickup and Jimi Mwng. Music by Boards of Canada, Chris Gladwin and Brian Eno.

Salad Fingers is digging holes outside with his finger puppets, occasionally tasting the sand, or as he calls it, "floor-sugar". He finds Hubert Cumberdale beside a deep hole which contains the torso of an old, decayed corpse (missing both legs and an arm, and bearing a large wound at the top of his skull) that Salad Fingers immediately "recognizes" as "Kenneth," his "younger brother" who is back from the previously mentioned "Great War" on shore leave. Salad Fingers pulls the corpse out of the hole, saying it was rude of him to leave for the "the Great War" without him, but promises to draw him a hot bath.

The next scene shows Salad Fingers turning a cog which pulls clothesline, drawing Kenneth out of a wardrobe, now dressed in a suit. Salad Fingers says to "lock up your daughters tonight, General", whistles, and says "There'll be trouble in the maidens' quarters." Salad Fingers has prepared a dinner of sand for his guest, saying "I—hope you like... SAND". Kenneth's head continually falls to the table, so Salad Fingers props it up. Salad Fingers tells Kenneth of his life, keeping busy with "every shift I can... [and] sing[ing] at all the functions". Salad Fingers then pours Kenneth some "ruby tea", which he spills on Kenneth's hand. There is a flashback (introduced as their "frolicking by the riverside") in which Salad Fingers measures the distance from his door to a tree (which he calls "Mr. Branches") and subsequently teases it for its slow movement.

It is now evening, and Salad Fingers is with Kenneth outside near the same hole he found him in. He cries over the fact that Kenneth has to go "back to the ghastly trenches". He salutes Kenneth and sings "We'll Meet Again" for him. He then kicks Kenneth back into the hole. A dream-like sequence follows in which Salad Fingers sings the same song, in a white dress, on a stage in front of an audience of a theatre. After singing a few strains, he complains to the pianist that the key is wrong, walks off the stage, and the screen fades to black.

Episode 8 - Cupboard

• Release date: September 22, 2007
• Credits: Drawn, animated and voiced by David Firth. Written by David Firth and Christian "Crust" Pickup. Music by Boards of Canada, Lustmord and dyvz0r

Salad Fingers is sitting in his armchair, trying to tune his radio, which he calls "Roger". After feeding Roger his "sustenance", it begins to emit a strange, piercing frequency. This troubles Salad Fingers deeply. There are indications that the sound is in some way linked with his digestive system, though the precise nature of this link is unclear. He decides to wait out the tormenting event in his "safety cupboard".

When in the cupboard, Salad Fingers begins to converse with his hands. One hand enacts "Penny Pigtails", who is "off to buy raspberry jam at the market". Penny Pigtails then discovers a long strand of hair, which Salad Fingers rubs over his eyeball, apparently causing him great pleasure. He then leaves the cupboard and tapes it to a wall to form a quintet with four other hairs he has collected. Next, he goes to bed with Hubert Cumberdale. Before going to sleep, Salad Fingers sings "Three in the Bed", and instructs Hubert Cumberdale to "roll over"; as a result, the finger puppet is sent off the bed into a bowl of a filthy, brown substance. Salad Fingers orders him to clean himself as he doesn't want any "dirty immigrants" in his house.

Later that night, the radio begins to emit strange sounds again. Salad Fingers approaches it wearily and threatens "Roger" that he's of a mind to "show him the door". The radio speaks in a static voice, instructing Salad Fingers to return its hair, as well as to tidy the house. Salad Fingers declares that he shan't, on the grounds that it isn't his turn and that it is an unpleasant job. The radio continues to torment him, causing him to eat all of the hairs from his quintet, tape and all, and return to his cupboard in tears.

References

• http://www.semantikon.com/RESaladFingers.htm
• http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/12/25/PKGM6GB3BP1.DTL
• http://www.townonline.com/watertown/homepage/8998915803579416575
• http://www.wirenh.com/Features/Cover_Stories/Flash_nation_20050309321.html
• http://media.www.dailycampus.com/media/storage/paper340/news/2005/12/08/Focus/salad.Fingers.Stream.Of.Consciousness.Entertains.Viewers-1125194.shtml

See also

• David Firth
• Men From Up The Stairs

External links

Episodes

• Salad Fingers episode 1 - Spoons
• Salad Fingers episode 2 - Friends
• Salad Fingers episode 3 - Nettles
• Salad Fingers episode 4 - Cage
• Salad Fingers episode 5 - Picnic
• Salad Fingers episode 6 - Present
• Salad Fingers episode 7 - Shore Leave
• Salad Fingers episode 8 - Cupboard

Sounds

• Salad Fingers Soundboards

David Firth

• Creator's homepage
• Interview with David Firth
• Burnt Face Man - Another cartoon written by David Firth